Cohabitation patterns of the San Marcos salamander (Eurycea nana)

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Thaker ◽  
Caitlin Gabor ◽  
Joe Fries ◽  
Kristen Epp
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Laboratory Setting ◽  
Resource Defense ◽  
San Marcos ◽  
Mate Acquisition ◽  
Site Tenacity ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Eurycea Nana

AbstractSocial interactions of conspecifics are a function of complex relationships involving resource defense, antipredatory tactics, and mate acquisition. Consequently, individuals often associate non-randomly with conspecifics in their habitats, with spatial distributions of adults ranging from territorial spacing to aggregations. Site tenacity and cohabitation patterns have been well studied in many species of terrestrial salamander; however, less is understood about these behaviors in aquatic species. We examined the cohabitation patterns of intrasexual and intersexual pairs of the federally threatened, paedomorphic San Marcos salamander (Eurycea nana) under artificial shelters in a laboratory setting over a 20-day period. We found that intrasexual female pairs and intersexual pairs were found cohabiting more often than intrasexual male pairs. We also assessed site tenacity by examining shelter affinity and found that both males and females inhabited one of the two shelters more often than expected from random habitation, regardless of whether they were in intersexual or intrasexual pairings. Our results indicate that although both sexes of Eurycea nana exhibit site affinity, the sex of individuals is an important determinant of cohabitation patterns.

scholarly journals First evidence of gregarious denning in opossums (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae), with notes on their social behaviour

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 20150307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Astúa ◽  
Rafael A. Carvalho ◽  
Paula F. Maia ◽  
Arthur R. Magalhães ◽  
Diogo Loretto
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Pair Bonding ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Artificial Nests ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Didelphis Aurita ◽  
Nest Sharing ◽  
Didelphis Albiventris

The Didelphidae are considered solitary opossums with few social interactions, usually limited to mating-related or mother–pouch young interactions. Anecdotal reports suggest that additional interactions occur, including den sharing by a few individuals, usually siblings. Here, we report novel observations that indicate opossums are more social than previously thought. These include nest sharing by males and females of Marmosa paraguayana , Gracilinanus microtarsus and Marmosops incanus prior to the onset of the breeding season and without signs of sexual activity; this is taken to indicate early pair-bonding matching and cooperative nest building. We also recorded den sharing among recently weaned siblings of Didelphis aurita and Caluromys philander . In addition, we observed 13 individuals of Didelphis albiventris representing three age classes resting without agonistic interactions in a communal den. These are the first reports of gregarious behaviour involving so many individuals, which are either unrelated or represent siblings from at least two litters, already weaned, sharing the same den with three adults. Sociality in opossums is probably more complex than previously established, and field experimental designs combining the use of artificial nests with camera traps or telemetry may help to gauge the frequency and extent of these phenomena.

Threat sensitivity in the San Marcos salamander: effects of predator diet and prey experience

Behaviour ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 617-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen J. Epp
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Avoidance Response ◽  
Predator Avoidance ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Threat Sensitivity ◽  
Graded Responses ◽  
San Marcos ◽  
Adaptive Forgetting ◽  
Eurycea Nana ◽  
Avoidance Responses

Prey must constantly balance foraging and predator avoidance demands. Avoidance response efficiency may be improved when prey match the intensity of their avoidance behaviours to a perceived level of predatory threat (threat sensitivity). Additionally, experience with predators may influence the intensity of avoidance responses. I examined the possibility that experience with predators in the natural habitat would influence threat sensitive avoidance behaviours of an aquatic salamander, Eurycea nana, by comparing the intensity of avoidance responses to predators that had been fed a neutral diet (low-risk) or a diet of conspecifics (high-risk) between laboratory-reared and recently-collected adult salamanders. I found that laboratory-reared salamanders exhibited graded responses to low- and high-risk predators consistent with threat-sensitive predator avoidance. Predator-experienced salamanders (recently-collected), however, responded less intensely to all predators and their responses showed little evidence of threat sensitivity. These less intense responses observed in experienced salamanders may result from mechanisms of adaptive forgetting, which allow prey to respond to environmental variation. I discuss implications of these results for E. nana and other prey as well as highlighting the need for researchers to consider the longer-term experiences of prey used in studies of predation risk.

Mesohabitat associations of the threatened San Marcos salamander (Eurycea nana) across its geographic range

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Diaz ◽  
Joe N. Fries ◽  
Timothy H. Bonner ◽  
Mara L. Alexander ◽  
Weston H. Nowlin
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Range ◽  
San Marcos ◽  
Eurycea Nana

scholarly journals Plain faces are more expressive: comparative study of facial colour, mobility and musculature in primates

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 20140275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharlene E. Santana ◽  
Seth D. Dobson ◽  
Rui Diogo
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Facial Features ◽  
Facial Nucleus ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Colour Patterns

Facial colour patterns and facial expressions are among the most important phenotypic traits that primates use during social interactions. While colour patterns provide information about the sender's identity, expressions can communicate its behavioural intentions. Extrinsic factors, including social group size, have shaped the evolution of facial coloration and mobility, but intrinsic relationships and trade-offs likely operate in their evolution as well. We hypothesize that complex facial colour patterning could reduce how salient facial expressions appear to a receiver, and thus species with highly expressive faces would have evolved uniformly coloured faces. We test this hypothesis through a phylogenetic comparative study, and explore the underlying morphological factors of facial mobility. Supporting our hypothesis, we find that species with highly expressive faces have plain facial colour patterns. The number of facial muscles does not predict facial mobility; instead, species that are larger and have a larger facial nucleus have more expressive faces. This highlights a potential trade-off between facial mobility and colour patterning in primates and reveals complex relationships between facial features during primate evolution.

Sex Differences in Response to Marijuana in a Social Setting

1978 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cannie Stark Adamec ◽  
R. O. Pihl
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Person Perception ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Social Setting ◽  
Social Situations ◽  
Performance Variables ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Males And Females

Due to the failure to include women in the subject samples of most experimental investigations of the effects of cannabis, the possibility exists that the data obtained on this social intoxicant are applicable to only 49% of the population. Those few studies that have compared males and females have focused on performance variables and have demonstrated very few differences. It was hypothesized that the most likely area for male/female marijuana differences would be that of social interactions and behaviors related to these interactions. In a relaxed, informal atmosphere, Es videotaped the social interactions of groups of female friends, female strangers, male friends, or male strangers as they smoked coltsfoot, placebo, and marijuana. In addition to social-condition and drug-condition differences, we obtained statistically significant effects indicating that the women responded both to the social situations and to the drug differently from the men. In general, the women interacted with each other more positively than did the men. These effects were paralleled by sex differences in mood, person perception, and even in how pleasurable or annoying the experimental tasks were. These data are of import not only in the area of cannabis research but in the field of social interactions and the study of female/male differences as well.

scholarly journals Sexual selection is a form of social selection

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1600) ◽  
pp. 2266-2273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce E. Lyon ◽  
Robert Montgomerie
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Selection ◽  
Reproductive Competition ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Female Roles ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
Natural And Sexual Selection ◽  
Lines Of Evidence

Social selection influences the evolution of weapons, ornaments and behaviour in both males and females. Thus, social interactions in both sexual and non-sexual contexts can have a powerful influence on the evolution of traits that would otherwise appear to be detrimental to survival. Although clearly outlined by West-Eberhard in the early 1980s, the idea that social selection is a comprehensive framework for the study of ornaments and weapons has largely been ignored. In West-Eberhard's view, sexual selection is a form of social selection—a concept supported by several lines of evidence. Darwin's distinction between natural and sexual selection has been useful, but recent confusion about the limits of sexual selection suggests that some traits are not easily categorized as naturally or sexually selected. Because social selection theory has much to offer the current debates about both sexual selection and reproductive competition in females, it is sometimes viewed, narrowly, to be most useful when considering female roles. However, social selection theory encompasses much more than female reproductive competition. Our goal here was to provide that broader perspective.

Sensory and social influences on ice cream consumption by males and females in a laboratory setting

Appetite ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Lee Berry ◽  
William W. Beatty ◽  
Robert C. Klesges
Keyword(s):  
Social Influences ◽  
Ice Cream ◽  
Laboratory Setting ◽  
Males And Females

scholarly journals LMT USV Toolbox, a Novel Methodological Approach to Place Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations in Their Behavioral Contexts—A Study in Female and Male C57BL/6J Mice and in Shank3 Mutant Females

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrice de Chaumont ◽  
Nathalie Lemière ◽  
Sabrina Coqueran ◽  
Thomas Bourgeron ◽  
Elodie Ey
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Ultrasonic Vocalizations ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Phenotypic Marker ◽  
Require Time ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
High Level

Ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are used as a phenotypic marker in mouse models of neuropsychiatric disorders. Nevertheless, current methodologies still require time-consuming manual input or sound recordings clean of any background noise. We developed a method to overcome these two restraints to boost knowledge on mouse USVs. The methods are freely available and the USV analysis runs online at https://usv.pasteur.cloud. As little is currently known about usage and structure of ultrasonic vocalizations during social interactions over the long-term and in unconstrained context, we investigated mouse spontaneous communication by coupling the analysis of USVs with automatic labeling of behaviors. We continuously recorded during 3 days undisturbed interactions of same-sex pairs of C57BL/6J sexually naive males and females at 5 weeks and 3 and 7 months of age. In same-sex interactions, we observed robust differences between males and females in the amount of USVs produced, in the acoustic structure and in the contexts of emission. The context-specific acoustic variations emerged with increasing age. The emission of USVs also reflected a high level of excitement during social interactions. We finally highlighted the importance of studying long-term spontaneous communication by investigating female mice lacking Shank3, a synaptic protein associated with autism. While the previous short-time constrained investigations could not detect USV emission abnormalities, our analysis revealed robust differences in the usage and structure of the USVs emitted by mutant mice compared to wild-type female pairs.

scholarly journals Sex-Specific Social Behavior and Amygdala Proteomic Deficits in Foxp2+/− Mutant Mice

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Jesus Herrero ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
David Hernandez-Pineda ◽  
Payal Banerjee ◽  
Heidi Y. Matos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Neuronal Communication ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Encoding Gene ◽  
Dopamine Signaling

In humans, mutations in the transcription factor encoding gene, FOXP2, are associated with language and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), the latter characterized by deficits in social interactions. However, little is known regarding the function of Foxp2 in male or female social behavior. Our previous studies in mice revealed high expression of Foxp2 within the medial subnucleus of the amygdala (MeA), a limbic brain region highly implicated in innate social behaviors such as mating, aggression, and parental care. Here, using a comprehensive panel of behavioral tests in male and female Foxp2+/– heterozygous mice, we investigated the role Foxp2 plays in MeA-linked innate social behaviors. We reveal significant deficits in olfactory processing, social interaction, mating, aggressive, and parental behaviors. Interestingly, some of these deficits are displayed in a sex-specific manner. To examine the consequences of Foxp2 loss of function specifically in the MeA, we conducted a proteomic analysis of microdissected MeA tissue. This analyses revealed putative sex differences expression of a host of proteins implicated in neuronal communication, connectivity, and dopamine signaling. Consistent with this, we discovered that MeA Foxp2-lineage cells were responsive to dopamine with differences between males and females. Thus, our findings reveal a central and sex-specific role for Foxp2 in social behavior and MeA function.

scholarly journals Influence of environmental colors and long-term sex isolation on zebrafish shoaling behavior

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-337
Author(s):  
Christian Lenzi ◽  
Chiara Grasso ◽  
Mircea Nicoara ◽  
Alexandra Savuca ◽  
Alin Ciobica ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Potential Influence ◽  
Male Fish ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Shoaling Behavior ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Complex Social Behavior ◽  
Selection Of

Zebrafish has a complex social behavior and little is known about the role of sexual preference and their environmental social interactions. In this study we investigated the potential influence of environmental colors and shoaling preferences of zebrafish male and female populations, with a focus on visual communication. Males and females were kept for 7 days in gender-isolated tanks, with a specific habitat color for each group: green for males and red for females. After the pre-test period, all the animals were kept separated and 8 noninvasive behavioral tests were conducted in a T-maze, with the application of different visual stimuli. We did not observe any clear influence of environmental coloring on social zebrafish choices. Significant sex-related differences were found in shoaling partner preference (i.e. same sex vs. other sex, one fish vs. three fish) as follows: females showed a tendency to avoid other females and spent more time with males. Male fish did not display a preference between one or three fish stimuli and they shoaled more with another male and less with a potential sexual partner. There was an obvious difference between males and females in responses and selection of shoaling partners.

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